


Pluto and Persephone

by Sandoz (Sandoz_Iscariot17)



Category: Firefly
Genre: F/M, Food, Introspection, Sibling Incest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-06-27
Updated: 2011-06-27
Packaged: 2017-10-20 18:40:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/215909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sandoz_Iscariot17/pseuds/Sandoz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Simon and River pick pomegranates and reflect upon the past.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pluto and Persephone

**Author's Note:**

> Firefly and its characters are the property of Joss Whedon. This fanfic contains implications of incest, but it should be noted that these actions are NOT personally condoned by the author. Book's quote is from Peter Collinson (thank you, Wikipedia).

Simon raised his hand to shade his eyes as he stood in the sunny countryside of Persephone. _Serenity_ had only been planet-side for an hour; Mal, Zoë, and Jayne were in town arranging a business deal with Badger, leaving the rest of the crew to spend their time freely. Simon had politely declined Kaylee’s offer to visit a shop, not quite comfortable revisiting the place where Lawrence Dobson had tracked him down. Instead, he followed Shepherd Book’s suggestion to take a walk just outside the town walls.

It was a warm, windless day, and the sky was the color of a robin’s egg. River was with him. She danced barefoot on the patchy, dry grass, lifting her face to the sky and the sun as if saying hello to old friends. Simon’s heart swelled to see her so happy. He watched her from a short distance, and then turned his head to locate his other traveling companion.

Shepherd Book stood several yards away in the shade of a small tree. He picked a reddish fruit off the nearest branch. Keeping River in the corner of his eye, Simon strode over to the preacher.

“What is it?” Simon asked.

“Pomegranates.” Shepherd Book handed one to Simon. “How marvelous.”

Simon raised an eyebrow as Book plucked another fat pomegranate from the branch. “Is it all right to take these?” he asked. “Aren’t they someone’s property?”

Book shook his head. “I doubt it. There are pomegranate trees all over Persephone. We had several at the monastery.” Handing the second fruit to Simon, Book gave him a conspiratorial wink. “Kaylee would like these, don’t you think?”

Simon felt the heat spread across his face. “I suppose.” He quickly added, “And I’m sure River will—River?”

Turning around to call to his sister, Simon was shocked to see her standing directly behind him. She had stepped through the grass as silently as a cat.

“I do like fruit," River said.

“ _‘Don’t use the pomegranate inhospitably, a stranger that has come so far to pay his respects to thee,’_ ” Book quoted from memory, a thoughtful expression on his face.

Simon eyed River; she was carefully poking one of the pomegranates as if she were expecting it to explode like a grenade.

“All right," Simon said, "Let’s take some.”

***

A single pomegranate slipped out of the sack fashioned from Simon’s vest and rolled across the kitchen floor. Simon saw the wayward fruit first, but it was River who hurried after it, stopping its escape with her foot.

“Oh, we’ll wash that one,” Simon said as he emptied the pomegranates into a large fruit bowl.

“My foot is not dirty,” said River, sounding slightly perturbed.

“It’s not the dirt on your _foot_ I’m worried about,” her brother replied, glaring at the boot-tracked floor.

River shrugged and picked up the pomegranate. She studied it, running her fingers over its surface. Finally, she took a large, ravenous bite. This was met with some difficulty.

“The fruit is bleeding,” she said, more as an observation than a complaint.

Confused, Simon looked at her. “Bleeding” proved to be an apt word; River looked like a little vampire with the red juice dripping down her lips and pale chin.

“Come here, _mei-mei_ ,” Simon said, extending his hand and pulling her into the kitchen. He ran a washcloth under the faucet and gently dabbed her lips.

River stood very still, mindful of her brother’s close proximity. His face was only a few inches from hers, and she caught a whiff of his aftershave. As Simon gazed at her lips, River watched his. But the physical connection was brief, and soon Simon was hovering over the fruit bowl again.

“Why don’t we prepare these for the others?” Simon asked with a smile, rolling his shirtsleeves up to his elbows.

River stood on the tips of her toes to peek over his shoulder. Simon picked up a knife and sliced into one of the ripe fruits. He then pulled it apart with his hands, separating the internal seed casings from the skin. Juice slid down his fingers.

When Simon turned to take another pomegranate, River quickly reached around him to snatch a small cluster of seeds. Simon caught her just as she stuffed it into her mouth. She smiled greedily.

Simon chuckled. There was a wistful gleam in his eye. "Back home...one of our cooks, Henrietta, showed me how to open pomegranates when I was a boy. Do you remember her?"

"Yes,” River said. "Mother and Father sent her away for stealing the silverware."

Simon frowned. “Yes, there was that…”

"It was a simpler time," River said, her gaze falling on the split pomegranate. She had plucked the thought from his head as if it had been one of the fruits on the branch. She appeared crestfallen. "You still miss it."

" _Mei-mei_..."

River twitched as if in pain. She pointed at the fruit bowl.

"Pomegranates. Bad to eat them. Pluto will take us away." She squeezed her brother's arm, her nails pressing into his skin. "Our time here is over. Have to go to the other place now. We can't have both."

Simon pulled River close to him, whispering comforting words as he inhaled the scent of her hair. "That place was many things," he said, deliberately avoiding the word "home." He touched her chin so that she would look up and meet his eyes. She fell silent. Simon's fingers were still damp; the pomegranate juice left a tiny red stamp on her skin. "Not all of them good. But what we have now is..."

"Good."

"Yes," he replied with a smile. "And it's more than enough."

"Enough?" she whispered. "For you...this is enough?"

"Mmmhmm." Simon's hands slid down her arms. He heard the quiver in her voice but did not understand its meaning. "It's all right. Here, have some." He picked up another juicy fraction of the pomegranate and offered it to her. River sunk her teeth into the tangy seeds. She devoured it with relish, her tongue briefly flicking over her red, moist lips.

Simon folded his arms over his chest. "How does it taste?"

Standing on the tips of her toes, River kissed Simon's mouth. He stood still and rigid, taken by surprise. Her lips parted and her tongue quickly darted out of her mouth; suddenly Simon could taste the juice from the ripened fruit.

"Bittersweet," River said after she pulled away from him. She turned on her heel and ran out of the kitchen, the material of her dress rustling behind her.

Simon was left alone, speechless and stunned, with the taste of a fresh pomegranate still on his lips.


End file.
